Sunday, March 22, 2015

MAULTIER NEBELWERFER/ROCKET LAUNCHER

150-MM
SELF-PROPELLED PROJECTOR (15 cm Panzerwerfer 42). The Germans have
mounted this ten-barreled rocket projector on the rear of a lightly
armored half-tracked vehicle with a Maultier suspension. Two horizontal
rows of five barrels are mounted on a turntable with a 360-degree
traverse. The weapon is fired electrically by a gunner who sits in the
body of the vehicle immediately below the platform, his head protected
by a shallow cupola. It is probable that the rate of fire of this weapon
is higher than that of the Nebelwerfer 41, since the crew remains
behind armor near the weapon and can reload in less time. That sequence
is for the six barrelled ground mounted Nebelwerfer and was so that the
mounting wouldn't turn itself over during firing. According to "Field
Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945" by Terry Gamnder the
practicable traverse was 270 degrees, it could rotate in a full circle
but you can't fire it directly backwards as the back blast from the
rockets would harm the vehicle/crew.

The first winter of the war in the USSR
(1941-2) demonstrated to the German army that most of its wheeled
transport was completely unable to deal with the dreadful muddy
conditions produced during the freeze-thaw weather that marked the
beginning and end of the Russian winter. During these conditions it was
only the halftracks that could make any headway, but to divert the
precious halftracks from their operational purposes to carry out the
mundane day-to-day supply functions was obviously uneconomic, so it was
decided to produce low-cost halftrack trucks. This was done quite simply
by taking Opel and Daimler-Benz trucks from the production lines and
removing their rear axles. In their place went new dnveshafts connected
to tracked assemblies made from PzKpfw II running wheels and tracks. In
itself this was a considerable economic advantage since the PzKpfw II
was then going out of production and existing capacity could be
retained, making the truck conversion an even more cost-effective
venture.

The new halftrack trucks were provided with the name
Maultier (mule). In the end the conversions used mainly Opel Typ S/SSM
trucks, and in service they were generally a success although they
tended to lack the overall mobility of the 'proper' halftracks. Not
surprisingly, their use was confined to the Eastern Front, and the
vehicles were used mainly for routine supply purposes.

Not
content with a good thing, the Germans as ever were forced to employ the
Maultiers for yet another purpose, The German Nebelwerfer (rocket)
batteries had become an established part of the army artillery system by
late 1942, and it was decided that the Panzer formations should have
their own dedicated rocket units. At that time most Nebelwerfer units
used towed launchers, so in order to keep up with the Panzers a
self-propelled version was required. The halftrack was the obvious
choice as a starting point, but as none could be allocated the Maultier
was pressed into use.

The basic truck was provided with a
fully armoured cab, engine cover and hull. On the hull roof a 10-barrel
launcher known as the 15-cm Panzerwerfer 42 was placed. This launcher
had 270° of traverse and 80° of elevation, and it fired the 10 rockets
in a ripple. The army ordered 3,000 of these conversions with the
understanding that production would eventually switch to the sWS when
production totals of the latter allowed, which they never did (apart
from a small batch of prototypes). The first of these Maultiers was used
during 1943, and had a crew of three. The rockets were carried in the
launcher, with reloads in compartments along each side of the lower
hull, A machine-gun was usually carried. Some of these armoured
Maultiers were produced without the launcher and were used to carry
extra rockets for the launcher vehicles, and some of these were used by
units other than the Nebelwerfer batteries as front-line ammunition
supply vehicles, although their armour was proof only against small arms
projectiles and shell splinters.

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About Me

Mitch Williamson is a technical writer with an
interest in military and naval affairs. He has published articles in
Cross & Cockade International and Wartime magazines. He was
research associate for the Bio-history Cross in the Sky, a book about
Charles 'Moth' Eaton's career, in collaboration with the flier's son,
Dr Charles S. Eaton. He also assisted in picture research for John
Burton's Fortnight of Infamy.
Mitch is now publishing on the WWW various specialist websites combined
with custom website design work.